Ballet workers get 14% raise in new contract

Earlier this month, the Mediation Services department of Alberta Jobs, Economy, and Trade published the June 2025 Bargaining Update.

This monthly report provides information about the unionized workforce, primarily in Alberta. In June, Mediation Services received settlement information regarding 29 private sector and 18 public sector bargaining settlements, covering 12,522 and 2,253 workers respectively.

Among those settlements was a contract for about 30 workers employed by the Alberta Ballet Company.

Based out of Calgary, the Alberta Ballet Company oversees the production of multiple ballet shows in Calgary and Edmonton every year.

Local 212 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts, otherwise known as IATSE, represents the production workers who put on the shows.

These workers include carpenters, fly technicians, electricians, sound technicians, prop handlers, wardrobe crew, forklift operators, riggers, and crane operators.

Their previous contract expired last June. Their new contract was ratified this past April, 10 months later, and will run until June 2029. This is a year longer than their previous contract.

The workers are set to receive wage increases in each year of the new contract.

2024–2025	3.00%
2025–2026	3.50%
2026–2027	2.50%
2027–2028	2.50%
2028–2029	2.50%

This will result in a combined increase of 14% over the life of the collective agreement, or 14.8% if you account for compound increases. That averages out to 2.8% (2.96%) per year.

On top of that, workers were scheduled to get a market adjustment increase for their first wage increase, which was retroactive to last summer.

Here are some highlights of other things that have changed in this new contract.

The RRSP allowance remittance has increased from 4% to 5%.

National Truth and Reconciliation Day has been added to the list of recognized holidays, which the employer uses to determine stat pay.